I understand the regulaton of the two levels of figure skating, I just don't think it is fair to give certain skaters the chance to win two GP Finals in the same year.

It isn't possible to win two GP finals in one year the rules are quite clear - a skater skating in the JGP cannot perform on the senior GP and vice vera. I think i may have read (but can't recall for sure) that there is some kind of exception if the the skater is in a different discipline so e.g. one skater in a pair could compete on the Senior GP as a pair skater but take part int he JGP as a singles skater.

EDIT : I didn't see Sylvia's post and she explains it better than I have!
Ant

What I should have said that it is possible for a skater to win the Junior GPFinal and the Senior Worlds.

The name Junior with its influx of Seniors is a misnomer, for me.

They can but i would think it highly unlikely that a skater would win the JGP final and senior worlds. The likelihood of a skater winning worlds and not having skated on the senior GP is pretty remote to impossible (although technically possible wihtin the age limits).

I think the main issue is about age limits. The misnomer occurs because for some reason the ISU in its inifinte wisdom itself doesn't apply the same age limit to senior comeptitions - the age to compete at senior GPs is different to worlds, therefore it is entirely possible (Mao and Yuna being examples) that you skate on the Senior GP (because you are talented and want to skate to your best potential) but are too young to go to the big senior championships (4CC/European, Olympics and Worlds) so end up back at the junior worlds despite having beaten at least some (if not all) of the podium at the last senior worlds on the senior GP.

The first step to getting it right is to make the age limits uniform (up the age for the senior GP or lower the age for the senior championships).

Then it's up to each member federation how the deal with their own affairs at home. Testing never has age limits (except maybe some of the adult tracks requiring a minimum age perhaps?) and i don't think it should. You should be encouraged to mvoe onto the next level by ability not by age necessarily. It would be unfair to keep a child prodigy down and not allow them to test senior just because they're 13 or 14.

May 30th is a Saturday. I don't know if the ISU will publish the finalized full slate of GP entries right away (the same day or on Sunday) or if they will make us wait until Monday, June 1st (or later that week).

ETA: Last year the ISU published the full slate of GP entries on their site on June 14th but I can't remember if it was the same day as the selection meeting or the day after?

Emily is #72 on the ISU Ranking list and #82 on the Seasons Best list. She has no guarantees, and because she is not in the top 75 on the Seasons Best list, she is not even qualified to receive a GP invitation. The only way she could compete in the GP was if she got a host pick to Skate America, and I don't think that is within the realm of possibility, given that she's skipped the last two Nationals and her performance at TEB 2008 was dreadful.

Emily is #72 on the ISU Ranking list and #82 on the Seasons Best list. She has no guarantees, and because she is not in the top 75 on the Seasons Best list, she is not even qualified to receive a GP invitation. The only way she could compete in the GP was if she got a host pick to Skate America, and I don't think that is within the realm of possibility, given that she's skipped the last two Nationals and her performance at TEB 2008 was dreadful.

When one thinks of the math involved in offering GP events to skaters., one has to think about spaces available for all eligible.

of the 72 slots, the podium and 4-6 skaters will get 12 of them; the addiional skaters for the host countries will get 6 of them. Of the 54 remaining slots, how many are left at the top 75 list? and will they all make it?
Just thinking of Emile's chances.

When one thinks of the math involved in offering GP events to skaters., one has to think about spaces available for all eligible.

of the 72 slots, the podium and 4-6 skaters will get 12 of them; the addiional skaters for the host countries will get 6 of them. Of the 54 remaining slots, how many are left at the top 75 list? and will they all make it?
Just thinking of Emile's chances.

Add also the 6 skaters who finished 7th-12th at Worlds who get two events each, which drops the remaining slots to 42.

There are certainly enough skaters in the top 75 on the SB list to fill those slots. Nearly all the skaters in the top 12 at Worlds and in the top 24 on the ISU Ranking list are also in the top 24 on the SB list. So that means there are almost 50 candidates for invitations, and the best of those will receive two invitations.

In any case, the ISU rules do not permit skaters who aren't in the top 75 on the SB list to get invitations, so Emily CANNOT receive an invitation from any of the other federations. Her only chance is to get a US host pick, and that is virtually impossible.

Grand Prix assignments announcement has generally come 3 to 4 days after the conclusion of the annual ISU Grand Prix Selection conference. That being the case, look for the Grand Prix event lineups to be released around June 3 or 4.

Regarding a possible Kwan invite.... today was the final day she had to accept an invitation or to let U.S.F.S. know she is interested in possibly skating in Lake Placid, but has not fully decided. In any case, U.S. Figure Skating has frequently provided their invite list of competitors with 1 or 2 TBD (To Be Determined) for U.S. skaters taking part. In reality Kwan may have several months more to make up her mind. This senario is most likely, if we do not see her name and a TBD listed instead.